Latch



vB. R. THIELE Sept. 2, 1947.

Filed Feb. 2l, 1944 herz/Qu: fr mda. BY u).

Patented Sept. 2, v1947 R,..Wagner Manufaoturing Company, Mil'- Berthold R. Thie1e;.Milwau kee-, Wis., assignor to Wanken, WiSe-,a corporation of Wisconsin Application. FebruaryZl, 19.44;, SerialgNo.. 523,233

1l This invention.- relates. to improvements inf latches andy more oartioularlvto a latch Primarily adapted for use. in. eonneotion with.. boxes., o. and thelike.

One of the objects of the invention. is. to; lorcvide a latch of this. character wnion is extr-.ernelrl annoio and compact in. oonstruotiomrelelole and;

effective in operation.. attractive in appearance. susoeptible of economical manufactura-and one Which may be. readily ftnnliedV to a box.` Cese or similar article.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide a latch of' the character referred.- to,` wl f1erei 1f1. all;V

of the movable or operative parte. maybexassemfbled rind heldin onerativepositionbv the. several parte of' the cosinev fitzhnk Whiohlther are. housed without the aid ofY screws, rivets o1: other fasten. ing means.

A further object of the invention resides in. the orovision of a loosely pivotecl. latch. member ener-able into-and ont of latohing position against. the. notion ofa sprinedisnos-ed'between saisitlaten-` member and the base portion of the latcnhil.- ine. i

Other objects and advantages reside incertain novel features of constructionL arrangement and Combination of parts. which will .be hereinafterv more fully described and partioulerly'nointeolout in the appended claims, reference beine. had to the accompanying drawings forming e eert; of the specification, and inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation ofy fa; latch consist-liet,- ed in aeordenee with the invention Shown.. oreratively applied to thehineed seetonsfof: o; box.. oase or the like, a portion or the latoh housing. beine broken away to show the relation ofsome' of. the. parte. other' parte beine shownV dotted: lines;

Fig. 2 is a section taken. on theline'II-f-Ll of Fig. l:

Fie. 3 is a plan View or the base-nieto ofthe.. latch housing; and

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the latch plate or meine ber.

Referrine more oartioulerly to the; drawings.. the keeper l2, in the forni of. a, depending tong re; having a rolled edge lil,Y is formed as` any integral part. of the @over Section-ll of housing. ILL, its:

constitutes the bese slate of the housing.. and is.- nrovidedwith a marginal` flange over Whion the cover section Il litsl and is suitably seoured. The. housing isattached by anyv suitable;- Ineanssuch; as prongs 10b to onejofy thev hinged sections,V of.. the box. The lower wall of the` housing is out away, as. at lilo te. aeeommodate themovements of. a. locking bolt, if a locking feature is desired as hereinafter explained.

Secured to the other section. of the box` di.-`

rectly beneath the housing Ill is the latch housing 2lv comprising a. base-plate Iii provided with marginal flanges. I l. 'andI a cover sectionfzla` whioh nts 'down over said ilanges and issuitably se.-A cured. thereto. The latch. housing is secured to the box by anyv suitable fastening means, such as.

prongs Ior The upper wall of the latch hous-r ing` is out tum/1,5;` as. aty 21o to receive the keeper when. the box sectionsv are: closed; and the frontv Wall ofv thev latch housing is providedl with an opening 26: surrounded by. an` inwardly extendw ingr. ange 28. Struok. up ufrom the base plate it. adjacent, the lower edge thereof are a plurality of inverted` lr-.shaped lugs le. The latch plate is designated 2l. and` is. shown in. detail inlFig. 4. llt is. positioned vertically in the. latch` housing and. isprovided with laterallyv disposed pivot ears 21a at its lower. edge, these beingadanted toA ene gage the forward projections of lugs` IB, asshown.

in,1'ig..2v and in dotted linesin Fig. 1. The latch member` intermediate its upper and lower edges .l

is provided with a. button 2 3 which projects through theflangedl opening ein the front wall,

thereof. Theupper endof. thelatch bolt isbent as at ,22 to. oofaot with. the rolled edge oi the keeper asshowninFig. 2. A vertically disposed: leaf.I spring 3l. mounted. at its. lower end betweenolip s2. and the basenlatev I.6, is disposed inter.- rnediate the latch plate and the base plate enf. easing. the former. at iid and` the 'latter at, 3io

:L so asfto always` urge the latchy plate forwardly I8.;l and.. immediately uploni release of the buttonthelatohplate is returnedto operative or latchn ins. position bv virtue of the snrine 3i. the for- Werdmovementof the latehine plat-e. into lettone.

ing, position,uponwithdrawai of thekeener. being limited. by engagement of the latch plate with the inner end' of the ange 28 surrounding the opening., 2li'. I f. desired, thespring 3|; may be. continued, beyond. its. Contact. at 31h.. with. the

baseplate-through .a suitable oneningtl. provided..

in .the latchplate and thenceiorwardly, as shown at. 3.6.. into, the. space normally.V occupied by the Keener when. proieoted into the latoh. housing. S9. that. Vwhen the. latch plate. is 1 pressed,A rearward:

ly to release the keeper, the end 36 of the spring Y will serve to lift the lid of the box. l

It will be observed that no screws, rivets or other fastening means are required to assemble and hold the various parts of the latch mechanism in operative relation. The assembly is accomplished by merely positioning the parts in operative relation on the base plate and then moving the cover of the latch housing intoposition down lugs I3 and with the extended upper end of the spring 3l, if such extension is employed, projecting through the opening 31 in the latch plate. T/Vith the parts held as thus positioned the latch housing cover 21a isv moved into position over the Vbase plate and suitably secured, thus holding the parts in operative relation. i

It will also be observed that the latch plate and keeper tongue are of substantial width and that the latch hook extends throughout the width of the plate and that the lower rolled edge of the tongue extend throughout the width of the latter, thus providing for an engagement of the latch and keeper over a substantial extent parallel to the face of the box or case and forwardly thereof when the parts are in latched relation, providing an engagement of considerable strength and ruggedness and one which will insure and maintain alinement of the hinged parts of the box or case when closed. It is to be further observed that the rounded forward surface of the latch hook 22 and the rounded lower surface of the keeper tongue I2 provide, in effect, co-acting camming surfaces to insure ease and facility of operation as the keeper is moved downwardly into latching position.

If desired, a key-operated locking feature mayk be combined with the latch. In the drawings this is shown in the form of a locking boltl pivoted to the base plate Illa, as at 42, within the` upper housing lil. The free edge of the locking bolt may be provided with a notch 43 to receivethe bit of a key, not shown', inserted through the keyhole @6 in the face of the cover Il with the extreme end of the key pin engaged in and centered by the hole 46a provided in the base plate la. The lock bolt at its forward edge adjacent the lower edge thereof is provided with a lug ed which, when the bolt 4| is in locking position, occupies the space between the upper end 22 of the latch plate 2l and the base plate I6 of the latch housing so as to effectively block disengaging movement of the latch hook. Upon insertion of the key andthe turning thereof'inV a counterclockwise direction, the bit of the'key engages the upper wall of the notch 43 and lifts the lock bar upwardly into the housingfl out of locking position, the bar being maintained against accidental displacement from such position by the provision of an ordinary spring catchV Eil-52 interposed between the adjacent surfaces of the boltvlll and base plate Illa. This spring' the key is turned clockwise so that'the bit en-f gages the lower wall of the notch 43 to move theV 4 bolt to the position shown in the drawings. Lug 56 struck up from the base plate I6 of the latch housing serves as a stop to limit the bolt in this movement.

While only one form ofthe invention has been described, it is to 'be understood that various changes and modifications may be made therein Without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims. K

I claim: 1. In a latch, a housing having an openin therethrough, lugs* carried by said housing, a

latch plate provided with ears engaging underY said lugs and cooperating therewith to provide a pivotal mounting for said plate, spring means for urging said plate into latching position, a push button associated Ywith saidplate and protruding through said opening for moving said plate to unlatched position, and a flange surrounding said opening, said latch plate being held in operative position by said spring, push button and flange.

2. In a latch, a housing comprising a base plateV and a cover therefor, the base plate being provided with a clip and forwardly projecting lugs, the cover being provided with 'ay flanged opening,

a spring mounted in said clipagainst said base plate, a latch plate mounted against lsaid spring' a portionurgingsaid bolt in toA position rfor enf? gaging said keeper and havingV a portion bearing directly on saidkeeper when in engaged position said bolt.

4. In a latch for a box or case, a keeper, a housing, a latch bolt mounted in said housing and movable for disengagement from and engagement with said keeper, and a leaf spring having a bowed portion urgingsaid bolt into position for engagto move saidkeeper out of -engaging position with` ing said keeper and having a free portion bearingv continuously on said keeper when Yinengaged position f to move said keeper out of Vengaging position with said bolt. Y 1- 5. In a latch for a box or case.' a keeper, a/housing yincluding a cover having a flanged aperture therethrough, a latch bolt mounted in said-hous-Y ing for engagement with and disengagement from said keeper, a button on said bolt and extending through the aperture in said housing coverjand a spring lacting on'said button and urging-"said vbolt Yagainst the iiangeV of'said housing coveras a stop, said spring bearing yon said keeper to urgeY l `position: with said said keeper outof engaging bolt. 'r l "u 6. vIn a combined vvlatch and lock for a boxVor: the like, a keeper mounted on onebox sectionya housing mou'nted on the other box section "and having anvopening tojreceive the keeper,` a Vlatch mounted inthe housing for latchingenwgagement with the keeper, fa spring'urging the latchintoV .position for@engagement'with-the;keeper, and a key operated locking bolt mounted in the'keeperj for movement into the housingto lockthe keeper and the vlatch injengagement.

. i 7. In ajlatchand lock for` "a box lor 'the like,V al keeper mounted on oner bcxsection, ahousinvgf mounted on the other box section and having an opening to receive the keeper, a latch mounted in the housing for latching engagement with the keeper, a spring urging one end of the latch into engaging position relative to the keeper, and a key operated locking bolt pivotally mounted in the keeper for movement into the housing under that end of the latch engaging the keeper to lock the keeper and the latch in engagement.

8. In a combined latch and lock for a box or the like, a keeper mounted on one box section, a housing mounted on the other box section and receiving the keeper, a latch mounted in the housing for latching engagement with the keeper, a spring having an intermediate portion urging the latch into position for engagement with the keeper and having an end portion urging the keeper out of engaging position with the latch, a button mounted on the latch and extending from the housing for disengaging the latch from the keeper against the action of the spring, and a key operated locking bolt mounted in the keeper for movement into the housing to lock the keeper and the latch in engaged position.

9. In a combined latch and lock for a box or the like, a keeper mounted on one box section, a housing mounted on the other box section and receiving the keeper, a latch mounted in the housing for latching engagement with the keeper, a leaf spring mounted at one end in the housing, the spring having an intermediate portion bowed between the housing and the latch and bearing on the latch and having a free end portion extending through the latch and bearing on the keeper, a button mounted on the latch and extending from the housing for disengaging the latch from the keeper against the action of the spring, and key operated locking bolt mounted in the keeper for movement into the housing to lock the latch in engaged position with the keeper.

10. In a combined latch and lock for a box or' the like, a keeper mounted on one box section,- a housing mounted on the other box section and having a hanged opening therethrough, a latch pivotally mounted in the housing for latching engagement at one end thereof with the keeper, a button mounted on the latch and extending through the flanged opening in the housing for disengaging the latch from the keeper, a leaf spring xed at one end in the housing, the spring having an intermediate portion bowed between the housing and the latch and bearing on the latch and having its free end portion extending through the latch and bearing on the keeper,

and a key operated locking bolt pivotally mounted in the keeper for rotational movement under that end of the latch engaging the keeper to lock the keeper and the latch in engaged position.

BERTHOLD R. THIELE.

REFERENCES CETED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 308,212 Starr NOV. 18, 1884 2,001,805 Wheary May 21, 1935 2,311,298 Marsh Feb. 16, 1943 2,136,493 Y Denerich Nov. 15, 1938 1,934,105 Totty NOV. 7, 1933 

